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Marble Stele of a Woman
Brief Identification This “marble stele (grave marker) of a woman” was made in Greece in the mid-fourth century B.C.E. Only the top right portion of the stele remains. It was found in Acharnai, Attica, Greece in 1811 (Richter 1954, 53). It was used as a grave marker. The stele was kept in England in Lowther Castle in the collection of the Earl of Lonsdale (Richter 1954, 53). It can now be found at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in Gallery 158 [1]. Technical Evaluation ] A tool called the claw was used to sculpt marble in the fourth century B.C.E in Greece. The end of this tool was shaped like teeth, which made it a much faster alternative to chiseling and was just as effective at carving large areas as a chisel. In the ancient world, Greece was the only place that had the technology of the claw (Adam 1966, 18-19). A large source of Athens’ marble in the fourth century B.C.E came from the quarries at Penteli. This was in a mountain northeast from Athens [2]. Local Historical Context The stele was created in the classical period in Greece. This period started with the Persian wars and ended when Alexander the Great died in 323 B.C.E. In this time, Athens gained political and cultural power in Greece [3]. Cleisthenes came into power in Athens in 507 B.C.E. After coming into power, he created a new way of governing called demokratia which enabled city-states to govern themselves. Another influential leader was Pericles. He came into power in the 450s B.C.E. He paid artists and thinkers as well as funded an annual play at the Acropolis which led to the building of the Parthenon [3]. Men held all of the power in the fourth century B.C.E. Greece. Citizenship could only be held by upper class men. These men were the only people that were able to receive a formal education. A large portion of the population was composed of slaves (roughly one fourth of the population). The slaves were mostly prisoners of war and did various jobs in Greece. Slaves did most of the physical labor working in shipyards and digging up marble. The upper class spent most of their days eating a diet of mostly wines and breads and spending much time outside [4]. The men who made grave markers did not view their work as art but rather as a mass production. It was common for them to have multiple statues in stock. If someone wanted to have something different, it had to be custom ordered. Custom orders were kept out of the hands of many because of their higher price (Richter 1954, 53). The people that bought these steles often bought them for a family burial ground [5]. It can be inferred that the family that owned the stele was wealthy because they could afford a large statue. Within the Greek culture, burials were very symbolic. It was believed that if someone did not have a proper burial, the person would not find a place to stay on Earth or in the afterlife 1973, B. The stele was just one part that went into a burial. It was also common for an artist to paint white lekythoi and place them in the tomb. Lekythoi were vessels used to store oil. [6] The stele would be placed over the tomb to mark the person’s grave 1973, 7. World-Historical Significance Only the top right portion of this stele remains, but it is thought that the bottom left portion was taken up by handmaids. This shows the social structure of the time. There was a clear upper and lower class (Richter 1954, 53). The depiction of servants on grave markers can also be seen in Roman grave markers. Both cultures put much emphasis on having large grave markers. It was also common for families to be buried together in Rome 2006,183. Bibliography Adam, Shila. The Technique of Greek Sculpture in the Archaic and Classical Periods. Vol. 3 of British School of Archaeology at Athens. ''Thames and Hudson, 1966. Carroll, Maureen. ''Spirits of the Dead: Roman Funerary Commemoration in Western Europe. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2006. London, King's College. "Monuments: Penteli Quarries." · Art of Making. Accessed November 13, 2016. http://www.artofmaking.ac.uk/explore/monuments/310/. Gardner, Percy. Sculptured Tombs of Hellas. Washington, DC: McGrath Publishing Company, 1973. History.com Staff. "Classical Greece." History.com. Accessed November 09, 2016. http://www.history.com/topics/ancient-history/classical-greece. "Lekythos." The Classical Art Research Centre. Last modified 22 October, 2012. http://www.beazley.ox.ac.uk/tools/pottery/shapes/lekythos.htm. "Marble Stele (grave Marker) of a Woman." The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Accessed November 09, 2016. http://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/254597. "Everyday Life in Ancient Greece, 4th Century BC." Everyday Life in Ancient Greece, 4th Century BC. Accessed November 13, 2016. http://www.eyewitnesstohistory.com/ancientgreece.htm. Richter, Gisela. Catalogue of Greek Sculptures in the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1954. "The Definition of Stele." Dictionary.com. Accessed November 13, 2016. http://www.dictionary.com/browse/stele. "Welcome to Lowther Castle & Gardens." Lowther Castle and Gardens. Accessed November 13, 2016. http://www.lowthercastle.org/.